Friday, December 16, 2022

Weekends

And not just ANY weekend.  The weekend before Christmas.  One could argue that this is the primo Christmas weekend.  The anticipation, you see.  A work week packed with extreme Christmas fever lies ahead.


Drinking this stuff over ice.  An annual Tradition.


8 comments:

Willow Cove said...

I gotta try some spiced wine!

Rot said...

This stuff is only nine bucks. haha

and, oddly, I love it over ice... supposed to warm it up, but I prefer this particular one chilled.

Lady M said...

Love a good gluwein.

Rot said...

Nice!

Revenant Manor said...


It is indeed that time of year, and it all looks great!

Thinking (and acting) in a similar vein, I'm well on the way to turning this weekend and all of next week into one long Christmas-inspired indulgence.

The following has absolutely nothing to do with spiced wine, but DOES have something to do with being thoroughly celebratory (imprudent?).

For any similarly intentioned revelers, I present the Peppermint Schtick.

As a cocktail, it's absolutely seasonal, 100% ridiculous, and best of all, super easy to make:

- 1.0 oz vodka
- 0.5 oz vanilla vodka
- 1.5 oz half-and-half (or heavy cream, depending on preferred mouth feel)
- 0.5 oz peppermint schnapps
- 1 teaspoon simple syrup (or Festive Simple Syrup to take it up a level; see below)
- Mini candy cane or peppermint stick (whole and / or crushed as garnish)

Everything but the candy cane just gets thrown in a shaker with some ice, then poured over even more ice (preferably a Truly Massive Ice Ball, if available).

It can all come out even more festive with a few other simple preparations.

- Freeze several mini candy canes; crush to tiny bits to act as rim garnish
- Make Festive Simple Syrup in advance; combine 1/2 cup each water & sugar + 1 tsp. peppermint extract over medium heat until sugar is fully dissolved / incorporated

If you're feeling extra jolly and want something that looks like the holiday in a glass, dip the rim of a rocks glass in the Festive Simple Syrup, roll in peppermint bits to coat, then deposit a whole frozen mini cane into the glass to take the thing entirely over the top.

A couple of notes:

- If no vanilla vodka is available no one will call the Christmas police. Just increase the amount of regular vodka accordingly
- If no vanilla vodka is available, but the idea of vanilla sounds appealing, make the Festive Simple Syrup with vanilla extract instead of peppermint extract for a similar result
- This thing is pretty forgiving; I've made one with sweetened vanilla almond milk in the place of the cream / half-and-half (and then skipped the simple syrup) and got perfectly acceptable results

These suckers are boozy little calorie bombs, but a fun change of pace drink that 100% look the part of a holiday cocktail without requiring a degree in mixology.

Happy holidays!

Rot said...

Oh my god
Haha

Sounds AMAZING

Willow Cove said...

The Christmas Police, they're just looking for free drinks! Haha!
Just look out for the Booze Quality Control Elves ;)

Evil Vines Cemetery said...

Over ice? Brrr! ;) I imbibed gallons of gluhwein in Germany over Christmas. The best way to keep warm when you're outside touring all day.